Robin-B-Hood

December 24, 2007

Rated: Unrated Runtime: 126 min Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

There comes a point in the career of an action star where he feels the need to do something more family oriented, usually involving a baby in some manner. Arnold did it, Vin did it and now, Jackie has done it. I really wish none of them had.

This time around Jackie plays the role of a bad guy, a compulsive gambler who steals to keep his habit going. He and his two partners aren’t above stealing anything, from shark fins to cash, whatever it takes to make a payday. Early onFong (Jackie) shows he’s really a good guy when he risks his life to save a baby during a robbery of a hospital pharmacy. After the rescue Octopus (Louis Koo) andFong go about their normal thievery and the movie takes a detour to introduce us to the family lives of the main characters. I won’t do the same.

After Landlord (Michael Hui, and the third member and leader of the crew) is robbed himself, he accepts a new type of job, one that’s worth $7 million dollars. Since all of them need the cash, Octopus andFong say yes without even knowing what the job is.. and it turns out to be a kidnapping. Not an “evil” kidnapping though as they are just stealing the baby from his parents and giving him to his grandfather. I’m skipping some details of course. As fate would have it, this is the same babyFong rescued back in the hospital.. ahh.. fate, the best movie cliche of all.

What follows is the typical segment where Octopus and Fong go from hapless men who don’t want anything to do with the baby to loving caretakers who will do anything to protect it. An amazing transformation considering it happens over a couple of days. There’s also a new love interest thrown in, and more family details forFong. Robin-B-Hood really does try to hit every page in the lets-soften-the-action-star playbook.

This is a Jackie Chan movie though, and you’re only watching for the stunts and action sequences. I’m happy to report you won’t be disappointed, as Jackie shows once again that he’s nuts. Would you scale down a 10 story building by jumping between air conditioning units without a safety wire? How about a simple slide down a marble stair railing that’s 3 stories tall, with just some mattresses to break your fall if you screw up? Nuts. The fights aren’t his best work (he is getting a bit older ya know) but it’s still entertaining.

In the end Robin-B-Hood is mildly entertaining, really only suitable if you’re looking for a date movie with your wife and are ready to have a baby, cause she’s gonna want one after watching the one featured here. I’ll give it an average rating of 3 stars, but barely.